have it

Idioms  

1. Receive or learn something, as in I have it on the best authority that he's running again . [Late 1600s]

2. Possess a solution, understand, as in Is this the new phone number? Do I have it straight? or I think I have it now . [Mid-1800s]

3. Take it, as in There's some ice cream left; go ahead and have it . This usage is always put as an imperative. [Second half of 1300s]

4. Have the victory, win, as in We've counted the votes and the nays have it . The related expressions have it over someone or have it all over someone mean “to be superior to someone.” For example, Jane has it all over Mary when it comes to reading aloud . [Early 1900s]

5. let someone have it . Give a beating, scolding, or punishment. For example, When she gets home Dad will let her have it . [Mid-1800s]

6. have it off . Have sexual intercourse, as in The two dogs were having it off in the backyard . [ Colloquial ; early 1900s] Also see the subsequent idioms beginning with have it ; not have it .

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Example Sentences

U.S. gasoline prices recently topped $4 a barrel, but other countries have it much harder, this Goldman Sachs chart shows.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

Common delivery services like UPS or FedEx typically allow users to recall mail they sent and have it returned to them.

From Salon • Mar. 27, 2026

"My children … need money for school projects and stuff like that, and we don't have it now," Helera told AFP journalists who spent part of the day travelling with him.

From Barron's • Mar. 24, 2026

And as he matures and becomes part of the family, I now find I wouldn’t have it any other way.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026

“It’s on the wrong eye. That one you have it on—and I really hope this does not come as a shock—has no eyeball.”

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman